


Mysterious Bed Occupant

by bfcas



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-18
Updated: 2018-01-06
Packaged: 2018-12-31 01:51:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 17,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12121941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bfcas/pseuds/bfcas
Summary: It's 6am, which is too early for Chloe to be awake. But when she finds someone else in her bed, she forgets she was ever asleep.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this is a dumb little fic I wrote one morning because I couldn't get it out of my head. You better not be lactose intolerant because this is cheesy as hell. Not sure if it'll be a multi-chap or just a standalone but either way, I hope you enjoy.

The sun came through the bedroom window through a single sliver of open curtains, falling in a thin concentrated beam straight onto the pillow where Chloe Beale was lying in bed. The sun warmed her face and shone into her eyes blindingly as she opened them for the first time in the early morning. She squinted in the harsh daylight in disapproval at being woken so early. She didn't know what the time was exactly but from the resonating silence from the Bella house, she knew everybody was still in bed making it before 6am. Basically, she had three more hours before she had to actually wake up and those three hours would make all the difference thank you very much. Chloe tried to close her eyes and get back to sleep but the beam of incessant sunlight still sat just on her eyes, lighting up the inside of her eyelids, making it impossible to lie comfortably in the light. She let out a frustrated sigh, deciding to shuffle backwards in her bed onto the other side in order to get out of the path of the sun. 

However, as she scooted backwards gently and tiredly back into the middle of her bed, getting her eyes out of the light and already thinking about getting back to sleep, her back gently met with a warm immovable object. She froze, brow furrowed. Who could that even be? Aubrey hadn't stayed over and she was sure she hadn't invited anyone over, unless she'd had some insane sleepwalking nightmare and had a one night stand without even knowing it. She had gone to bed completely stone cold sober so she knew that wasn't true, but when she couldn't think of who it could actually be, she knew she'd have to turn over and find out before even attempting to go back to sleep. 

Slowly, so as not to wake her mysterious bed occupant, Chloe turned over onto her other side, holding the bedsheets tactically still and achieving it in relative silence. When she settled back into the pillows she felt relief flood over her when she saw that it was Beca Mitchell sleeping soundly on the right side of her bed. Her face was hidden half in the pillow and the fingers on her left hand were curled up just in front of her face. Her brown hair that was haphazardly put up in Beca's usual nighttime hairstyle had come loose and there were several strands falling across her still face, including one that lay just by her slightly parted lips, moving in time with her slow, sleeping breaths. Chloe fought a strong urge not to move it and tuck it behind her friend's ear, but every time she tried to do that, she would inevitably get it tangled up in Beca's earrings and then she would wake her friend- a death wish in the making, because Beca didn't even know how to function if it was before 8am at the very earliest. So she watched the strand of hair move repetitively for a minute or so before Chloe realised she'd actually been staring at Beca's lips the whole time, tracing the shape of them and observing the way they were slightly dry in the morning and wondering what it would feel like to kiss them. 

The last thought wasn't an uncommon one in Chloe's mind though, as she found herself wondering that nearly every time she looked at her friend. She knew Beca probably didn't feel the same, but that didn't stop her from falling for her hard since she'd laid eyes on her from across the activities fair. Even if Aubrey did constantly point out all of Beca's flaws in an attempt to prevent the inevitable, Chloe had fallen straight in love with her co-captain, not listening to Aubrey's comments of "She's too grouchy" or "She's too alternative" or "She once said she hates kittens" (which Beca did and that one almost hurt, Chloe did admit) and instead listening to the voice in her head that was screaming "Do it, fall hopelessly in love with Beca Mitchell!" 

Chloe drew her thoughts back to reality, her eyes focusing on Beca again, her brown hair messily framing her still features as she breathed deeply and evenly in sleep. Chloe couldn't help but smile at the girl, whose face was usually scowling or lips were usually making some sarcastic comment but both were now relaxed and leaving Beca looking innocent and so free of worry as she lay sleeping in Chloe's bed. 

Wait. Beca was in Chloe's bed. Why was that again? She definitely wasn’t there when Chloe had fallen asleep to movies yesterday- that seems like something that Chloe would certainly remember. She must’ve come in during the night, but Chloe hadn’t woken up or if she did she didn’t remember the exchange. Her mind ran over various reasons as to why she had woken up next to her co-captain, trying to solve the mystery before Beca woke up and most likely ran out in embarrassment. 

Maybe she had come in because Amy had Bumper over? But then again, the whole house would’ve been vacated had Amy had Bumper over considering the noises that would come from the attic bedroom when the pair were together in the night. 

She certainly hadn’t come in to watch any movies. She didn’t like them- well, all except Star Wars which she was always happy to watch- so why would’ve she come in to watch some cheesy teen romance whilst Chloe slept? They would occasionally watch movies together but only under the condition that Beca could talk throughout to pass comment at the screen to show her disdain and that Chloe had to provide at least three varieties of snack to keep her occupied. Chloe would always do this, listening to Beca mock the characters and storylines of the movie as they shared Red Vines or popcorn or chips, her head resting on Beca’s shoulder as they watched. And considering there were no snacks lying around the room, it was obvious that the two of them hadn’t had a film night, even if it sometimes did end in Chloe falling asleep next to Beca. 

Another thought crept into Chloe’s mind, making her face flush red. She surreptitiously lifted the duvet they were sharing and peeked under. Chloe was still in the same t shirt and underwear she fell asleep in and Beca was wearing her oversized Barden t shirt and shorts. A mix of relief and disappointment came over the redhead. 

'Okay, so we didn't sleep together.' Chloe thought, tucking the duvet back round her friend, letting her fingers trail over her bare arm for a split second. Beca stirred slightly, her eyebrows furrowing slightly as she let out a small hum. Chloe’s fingers froze on her friends shoulder, not wanting to make any sudden movements just in case it woke Beca up and she saw Chloe staring straight at her like a creep. She even subconsciously held her breath, keeping as still as she could- like she was a wildlife photographer who was desperately trying not to disturb an endangered animal. 

A long few seconds drew out where Beca looked disturbed and Chloe was sure she was going to wake up. But then, Beca was shuffling towards the warmth of Chloe's side of the bed, her face settling on the pillow just inches from Chloe's, before letting out a deep sigh that Chloe could feel wash over her face, the feeling tingling against her own dry lips. There was a split second where Chloe dug her fingers into her palm just to resit the urge to pull her friend the remaining few inches and kiss her awake, but the urge died down after a flash. 

Seeing that Beca was dead asleep and it was still only six am, Chloe decided that she would succumb to the tiredness in her eyes and get some sleep in as well. Employing her earlier tactic of holding the bedsheets still, Chloe rolled onto her side so she was facing the wall, her back to Beca. She thought if she couldn’t see her and all the distractions that went with that then sleep would be easy. Instead, as she stared at the white of her bedroom wall, she felt Beca’s breath on the back of her neck and heard her light snores (that Beca would vehemently deny whenever anyone teased her about it) and was hyper aware of the way Beca’s fingers would twitch every now and then against a few strands of red hair that lay across their shared pillow. 

Still, she squeezed her eyes shut and was just falling into the rhythms of all the distractions, letting her body get used to them and adjusting, her body starting to relax when she felt Beca yawn and the bed jostle where she was stretching and waking up. Chloe kept her eyes shut and stayed still, not wanting to let Beca know she was awake for fear of her co-captain scampering out of the room in embarrassment, which was highly likely even if Chloe said it was otherwise. So she lay still, feigning deep sleeping breaths and trying to figure what each movement of the mattress meant. 

After a while, she felt Beca move up the pillow a little but she couldn’t figure out what that movement meant. A long while went past and Chloe was about to turn over thinking that Beca had gone back to sleep after being still for so long, but just as she was thinking about it she felt fingertips tracing the shell of her ear. She fought every instinct in her to jump at the touch, because then Beca would realise that she wasn’t asleep. Beca’s finger ran along the length of Chloe’s ear, stroking the soft skin, leaving behind a trail of what felt like electric shocks to the redhead. When Beca’s fingers moved to stroke the hair just behind Chloe’s ear, she couldn’t help but let out a small hum of content at her bed companions movements. Beca’s hand stilled and Chloe could swear she felt Beca stiffen behind her. 

“Chlo?” Beca whispered to her ‘sleeping’ friend. Chloe carried on her act of unconsciousness, not wanting Beca to stop stroking her hair. Beca often stroked her hair when they cuddled, but that was when they were sat on the couch watching TV with the Bellas or when Chloe had been crying and Beca awkwardly tried to comfort her. That was more how a child pets a cat, running her palm over Chloe’s head in a repetitive motion that only someone as awkward with physical contact such as Beca could achieve. She never did this, running her fingertips delicately through soft red hair, taking her time to play with each individual strand and run her nails along where skin met hair. 

“Chloe, you awake?” Beca murmured, her fingers tucking a strand of red hair that had come loose back behind the ear she was stroking not moments before. Chloe stayed still, letting out a long sigh to trick Beca into thinking she wasn’t awake. 

Beca apparently bought it, as her fingers resumed their slow gentle movements from before, making Chloe have to fight off a smile. The fingers on Beca’s left hand continued the same path, from the hair just behind Chloe’s ear down through the red hair until they trailed off at the nape of her neck, for a while whilst Chloe feigned sleep, lying still wrapped up in the duvet. 

Chloe could feel herself drifting off again under Beca’s gentle touches and she was about to fall completely asleep when she felt Beca’s fingers lift from her hair and away. Disappointment flooded her and she strongly fought the urge to reach behind her and place Beca’s hand back in her hair, realising that that would’ve been quite forward, even for Chloe Beale- shower invasion extraordinaire. 

The disappointment didn’t linger for long however, as she felt Beca shuffle back down the pillow and slowly over to the side of the bed that she was lying ‘asleep’. Chloe lay more still than she’d ever done before as Beca slotted herself behind her friend, the front of her thighs pressing to the backs of Chloe’s. Her feet were warm compared to Chloe’s freezing cold ones, where they had been stuck out the end of the duvet for a while, and they tangled together in a meeting of extreme temperatures. Beca laid her head down on Chloe’s pillow, her nose burying into red hair as she snuggled up into Chloe’s warmth. There was a long moment where she felt Beca’s arm hovering in the space just above her waist but then just as Chloe was about to give up hope, Beca gingerly laid her arm down, palm side down leaving her left hand resting on the lower part of Chloe’s stomach, fingers curling under where her t shirt had ridden up with her twisting in bed. 

Chloe’s heart beat loud in her ears over the sounds of Beca breathing, her entire body feeling warm and sleepy where she was wrapped up in body heat and gentle touches in the form of Beca’s fingertips tracing unintelligible patterns on her skin. She sighed deeply in content, her body relaxing as she shuffled backwards into the younger girl, who pressed a small kiss to the back of Chloe’s hair before her fingers stilled and she seemed to fall back to sleep after a minute or so. Chloe would’ve followed suit, feeling so comfortable and relaxed in Beca’s arms, but the weight of the hand under her t shirt and the ghost of a kiss on the back of her hair had made her brain feel electric, running at a thousand miles per hour. 

She lay there for a while, listening to Beca snoring in her ear, with a smile on her lips that she wasn’t even aware of. It felt so unbelievably right waking up and subsequently falling asleep with Beca, like they had always fit together like this and that they were always meant to. 

It was somewhere in those thoughts when Chloe fell asleep again, wrapped up in the warmth of her best friend, not even thinking about where it left them in the morning.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this was originally planned to be a one shot but people seemed to really like it so I've now turned it into a multi-chapter story- which is just another thing I'll take forever to update every chapter so sorry in advance crew...
> 
> If you're vegan, take caution because this is straight up cheese. Not nut cheese or soy but Bechloe cheese of the finest variety. Okay, let's go.

It was the sound of a slamming door that woke Chloe Beale up. Not her own bedroom door, but one of the other bedroom doors from within the confines of the Bella house. It startled her, her eyes opening blearily afterwards as her heart settled back to normal after the shock. She stared at the blank white wall she had fallen asleep facing for a while, observing the scratches in the paint work and smudges of make up she’d left there by accident. When her eyes blurred over with the blank expanse of wall, Chloe blinked hard before she turned in her bed until she was lying on her back, the duvet tucked securely around her. 

She looked up at the ceiling as she allowed her body to wake up, wondering why she felt so stiff when usually she wouldn’t have to wait nearly as long for her limbs to wake up. She must have slept funny, she thought, wiggling her cold toes and stretching her legs out straight. Why was she all curled up on one side of her bed? She never slept like that. She usually utilised the most of her queen sized mattress, sprawling in the middle with the room to shuffle around if she got restless. Not curled up on one side with the other side of her bed empty and cold. 

Chloe spread her arms out, stretching them at her sides, her fingers running across the sheet under the duvet and coming to rest just underneath the pillows on both sides of the bed. It was funny, as she stared at the ceiling Chloe couldn’t help but feel like something was missing. It took another few moments of ceiling gazing and racking her brains but it suddenly hit her. Hit her with a zing of electricity to the back of her head and to her lower abdomen where lips and a hand had respectively been.

Beca. Where was Beca?

Maybe she’d dreamt it because the right side of the bed where her co-captain had been was now empty and cold beneath Chloe’s fingers. But it had felt real. Beca’s arm wrapped over her and her feet tangling with hers and her snoring in her ear. It had all felt really real. And really nice. 

Chloe shook the thoughts from her head, bringing her hands away from the empty bedsheets to rub the sleep from her eyes and push herself up into sitting, the duvet pooling around her as she sat up in bed, looking for any telltale signs that Beca may have left behind in her room. But as her eyes scanned over her dresser to the various items of clothing scattered around to her satchel in the corner of the room there was nothing out of place or nothing out of the ordinary. Chloe had almost given up looking when she spotted them- a pair of Beca’s socks lying on the floor, just on the corner of her rug. She must have taken them off before she got in the bed, whenever that was, because they definitely weren’t there yesterday. 

Chloe smiled to herself; it was real.

With the knowledge that her dream wasn’t actually a dream, that Beca really had been that affectionate and sweet earlier that morning, Chloe pushed the duvet off herself, ready to get up and face the day. She checked the time and saw it was 08:50, meaning she had a few more hours until her first class, leaving enough time to grab some breakfast before she jumped in the shower. Beca had probably left earlier because she had an early lecture or something. At least, that’s what Chloe told herself, not wanting to think it was to do with any form of regret or embarrassment. 

Except, the more Chloe thought about it, the more she convinced herself that was what it was. Because it was completely out of character for Beca to be so free and careless with affection, so the fact that she had wrapped Chloe up in her arms and fallen asleep next to her was absolutely a reason for her to be embarrassed, even if Chloe didn’t even know she was there as far as Beca was aware. 

Not wanting to get upset before the day even began, Chloe stood from the bed, moving across the room to rummage in the various piles of laundry littered around her floor until she found a clean (well, they at least smelt clean and looked relatively so) pair of basketball shorts. She pulled them on, readjusted her t shirt so it hung loosely off her body as opposed to still being tangled at the bottom where she had slept and redid her hair atop her head before she pocketed her phone from it’s charging port and opened her bedroom door. 

She bumped into Cynthia Rose at the top of the stairs, waving a good morning and receiving a tired mumble in reply. Chloe was one of only two morning people in the Bella house, so mornings tended to be rather silent and moody affairs unless her or Jessica were around to lighten people up. But from the silence in the house, she guessed that Jess had already left, leaving the morning cheeriness on Chloe’s shoulders. 

Chloe walked through the living room, stopping briefly at the sight of Flo and Ashley sitting on the sofa. She smiled brightly at the two girls, who smiled tiredly back, despite the fact they were both dressed and ready to go out the door if their bags and notebooks were anything to go by. She chatted to the pair for a while, learning they had tests in class that day. So, that was why they were dressed so early, so they could revise their notes with each other as they crammed a cereal bar in as breakfast whilst they compared notes. She wished them both good luck and waved her goodbye, walking through into the empty kitchen. 

Without even thinking, Chloe flicked the switch on the kettle in preparation for her morning cup of tea before she moved over to the mug cupboard to find her favourite one. After finding her mustard yellow mug and placing it on the counter, Chloe went through the motions of preparing her tea as well as her breakfast. She decided on Cheerios and some chopped up banana, getting the chopping board and knife out to make her meal. 

As she was pouring the milk over her cereal and stirring her tea simultaneously, she heard a voice from the archway, making her look up. 

“Morning.” Beca Mitchell grumbled sleepily, rubbing her right eye with the sleeve of her favourite sweatshirt. The worn maroon fabric hung off her small frame seeing as it had belonged to her Dad before she had commandeered it from one of her family holidays. Her hair was piled loosely atop her head, with more than a few strands falling out where she had slept next to Chloe. 

Chloe forgot to say anything, her words stolen by the sight of a sleep rumpled Beca Mitchell shuffling over to her in her pyjamas and oversized sweatshirt. Beca narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

“Morning Chlo.” Beca said again, amused at the way her friend had frozen with teaspoon in hand and the milk still dribbling into the bowl. The nickname jolted Chloe back to reality with a flutter of her heart and she stood up straight and beamed at Beca.

“Morning! How did you slee-“ Chloe started, testing the waters to see if Beca would acknowledge their bed share, before she was completely interrupted by Beca yelping and lurching forward towards her. 

“Chloe, the milk!” Beca yelled, hands flying out to Chloe’s, pulling her hands up in order to stop the pouring motion of the milk container in her right hand. Chloe’s eyes snapped to the situation, seeing that in her stupid lovesick staring she had become completely distracted and poured the milk all over the kitchen worktop, creating a pool of white accented with a few Cheerios and a solitary slice of banana. 

“Oh shoot.” Chloe muttered, cursing herself for being so pathetic around her friend, who was currently grabbing a handful of paper towels and wetting a cloth at the sink. But Chloe couldn’t help but just compare the warmth of Beca’s hands on hers just then to the warmth of the hand that had laid on her stomach as she fell asleep that morning. She became too distracted to move, just standing with the milk carton still in hand, as she thought all about sleeping next to Beca and waking up with Beca and Beca kissing her before she fell asleep and even Beca’s snoring before the subject of every single one of her thoughts was stood in front of her, prising the milk carton from her hands and calling out to her.

“Earth to Beale, are you in there?” Beca smirked at Chloe, who finally returned to reality with a hum of acknowledgment and a shake of her head. Beca frowned at her friend’s odd behaviour as she wiped up the spill on the counter. 

“Sorry, I’m such a klutz.” Chloe said as she took over the cleaning, leaving Beca to stand back with a chuckle. 

“You’re weird.” Beca shook her head as she reached across Chloe to grab the chopping board and knife that had fortunately been spared from the dairy spill. Chloe froze for a second as Beca leant into her to achieve her goal, the smell of sleep still lingering on the younger girl making Chloe’s heart skip. God, get it together Beale, Chloe thought, finishing up her cleaning and breakfast things before moving over to the table with her bowl of very full cereal and mug of tea. She sat down at the table, on the left of the bench that meant she was facing Beca who was busy moving around the kitchen putting bread in the toaster and making herself a coffee. 

Chloe took a bite of cereal and was about to ask Beca about her plans for the day (in an attempt to begin nonchalant conversation that she would somehow segway into the question of ‘hey you were in my bed this morning and that’s cool but we were cuddling and it was nice so how about tonight?’). But as she chewed on the cereal, she caught the soft noise echoing around the kitchen. 

Beca was singing quietly under her breath. Not that she would ever say so, because she was always adamant that she was not a cheesy generic princess who would sing around the house doing their household tasks and would get very defensive when any of the Bellas insinuated it. She didn’t do it often, singing outside of the Bellas, but when she did it was almost always when she thought she was alone or drunk.

But here, in the kitchen as Chloe sat eating her breakfast and Beca faced away from her as she cut up a banana, she was singing. Not loudly, but loud enough that Chloe could hear the lyrics and the melody of ‘Paper Knees’ coming from her younger friend. The tune wasn’t perfect, seeing as Beca’s vocal cords were still rusty from the sleep and she was singing quietly, but it still made Chloe sit in stunned silence, her spoon halfway between the bowl and her mouth. 

Seeing as Beca couldn’t see her looking, Chloe indulged herself and just watched as the shorter girl went through the motions of making her breakfast. Chloe watched as she spread the peanut butter on her toast and then meticulously placed the thinly sliced banana atop it, interrupting her singing in favour of swearing under her breath as one bit slid down so it was askew before she rectified it. Chloe smiled all the while she did all of this, only realising she was doing so when she took a sip of tea and the mug touched her lips. 

It was a lot to process for Chloe. Going from not seeing her best friend for eight hours whilst they slept on different floors and then just catching her as her friend drained a coffee when she ran out of the house late as always to falling asleep in her best friend’s arms in the same bed and making a shared breakfast in the peaceful quiet of the morning. It was strange. But still strangely right. Like this was what they were always meant to do. What they had always done. 

She was snapped out of her thoughts once again by the sound of a mug being placed on the table. Damn it, she really needed to stop zoning out when the object of her thoughts was right in front of her or she’d be bound to be caught out. 

Chloe blinked hard and readjusted her focus in front of her as she took a mouthful of cereal. Beca was sat in front of her with a plate of toast and taking a sip of coffee. A perfectly normal sight. 

Except it wasn’t normal. Not to Chloe.

It was Rebeca Anne Mitchell sat in her favourite oversized sweatshirt, her hair messy and eyes still dark evidence of her sleepiness. It was her best friend scanning the toast meticulously, brow furrowed and tongue just poking out, in search of that perfect first bite. It was her crush that had perfect blue eyes that looked up to meet hers and an insanely attractive half smile that she threw over the table at the sight of Chloe looking at her. It was the love of her life that had the early morning golden sunlight streaming in from the window in front of her, the warm light highlighting all of her features and somehow making them even more beautiful than they already were. 

Her skin took on a warm almost golden glow as the sunlight washed over her, highlighting the lighter strands in her hair making it seem like a deep caramel colour, a few of which fell across her face in loose scrappy strands. Her eyes were blue with the sunlight bringing out the various greys and hazels that were flecked throughout, making them enchanting as they met Chloe’s across the table. 

Chloe couldn’t help it, her lips moved into an adoring smile before her brain had even sent the message, like Beca had taken over all her brain cells and was in charge.

“What are you staring at me for?” Beca asked amusingly, eyebrow raised as she stared right back at Chloe. She took a bite of toast, deciding the left hand bottom corner was the best first bite.

Chloe shook her head, partly to shake herself back to reality for the umpteenth time that morning, taking a gulp of tea as she thought of an excuse. She put the mug back on the table and looked back at Beca who had a mouthful of toast. On instinct, Chloe’s eyes flitted down to Beca’s lips and she saw the tiny speck of peanut butter on her bottom lip. Every brain cell screamed at her to kiss it away, but that could just be where Beca Mitchell had a hold of the control panel. 

“For real Chlo, what is it?” Beca pressed. Her eyes widened and her fingers on her free hand flew to her face. “Oh no, do I have a booger?” Beca muffled out from behind her hand.

Chloe laughed, her mind firmly back in reality now.

“No, no you’re good.” Chloe convinced her, taking another bite of cereal as she said it. Beca removed her hand gingerly, laughing as she took another bit of toast embarrassed. 

“Well why are you staring at me this morning then?” Beca said through her mouthful. Chloe knew she was in too deep because she even found Beca attractive as she spat crumbs everywhere.

Chloe shrugged at the question, choosing to wait until she had finished her mouthful before answering. Should she be direct and ask why Beca was in her bed that morning? Or just pretend it never happened? 

She settled on somewhere in-between.

“I don’t know, you just look nice this morning. Pretty.” Chloe said, eyes staring into her cereal bowl as she pretended to pick out another mouthful but was in reality just avoiding eye contact with the younger girl. 

“Oh.” Beca said surprised after swallowing her mouthful. She cleared her throat. “Thanks. Er, you too.” She sputtered out awkwardly. Chloe looked up at her, meeting eyes that were already staring at her. The two girls smiled at each other before taking a synchronised bite of breakfast and chewing in silence, just sneaking the occasional glance at one another. 

The sunlight still illuminated them and the steam still rose from the mugs and both girls still wondered if the other would bring up what had happened at 6am.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okey doke, here is the next installment in the Mysterious Bed Occupant series! Introducing the Bellas into this tale just for extra aca-gay goodness a la Jessica and Ashley, the most underrated couple in PP.
> 
> I'm glad you guys are liking this one because it's so fun to write these two being cute and dumb and in unrequited love. 
> 
> As always, this will be cheesier than a four cheese pasta dish so be prepared.

As it turns out, neither girl said a word over breakfast; the mutual compliment enough affection for one meeting. They had eaten their respective breakfasts, drank their respective drinks and then gone their respective ways to prepare for their respective days.

And it wasn’t that Chloe hadn’t enjoyed their usual conversation over breakfast, it was just that Chloe found herself to be entirely distracted the entire time. Partly by the beautiful sight that was Beca Mitchell in general but mostly by the thoughts in her head. 

Every time Beca picked up her slice of toast, Chloe would instantly find herself thinking of how that same hand had felt against her skin not three hours earlier. Those thoughts carried over to Beca’s lips as she ate said toast and then onto Beca’s whole being in general.

All of those thoughts stayed at the forefront of her mind as she showered and got dressed for the day. In fact, the thoughts didn’t really dissipate until she was finally seated in her calc class, the intense maths drawing her attention back to reality.

Her mind operated on autopilot for the rest of the day as she moved from class to class, having pleasant and polite conversation with her course mates over lunch and textbooks. The occasional thought of Beca snuck into her thoughts, but Chloe would just shake them away like she had learnt to do after nearly two and a half years of knowing the DJ. 

After a long day, Chloe arrived back at the Bella house around 6pm. As she opened the front door, the smell of something amazing wafted through the air. Chloe took it in, smiling at the sounds of chatter that floated through the air when she slid off the headphones she had been wearing. They were Beca’s backup over ear set that Chloe would borrow more often than not, seeing as Beca never complained. 

Chloe threw her bag and jacket on the stairs, over to one side so there would be no trip hazard, before she kicked off her shoes and walked through to the kitchen. 

The talking trailed off as the group of girls in the kitchen all saw her walk in, turning into a chorus of echoed hellos and laughter that made Chloe beam back at them. Jessica was at the stove, stirring what looked to be a sizeable pot of her famous pesto gnocchi- Chloe’s number one favourite food of all time, which made her gravitate naturally towards the pot and the blonde girl with wide hungry eyes.

“Hey! No sneaks.” Jessica slapped Chloe’s hand away with a laugh when the redhead went to reach into the pot to nab a piece of pasta. She retracted her hand with a grumble, moving over to the table where Stacie, Flo and Cynthia Rose all sat grinning at their captain being told off. 

“How come there’s pesto gnocchi in the house? Is it my birthday again?” Chloe grinned as she stood by the table that was laid neatly with nine places- one for each Bella. Her eyes were drawn from the place settings to Flo, who leant forward on crossed arms.

“It was specially requested. I offered to make my mothers recipe of mystery ingredient casserole but she was insistent on Jessica’s pesto gnocchi.” Flo shrugged with a smile. Chloe furrowed her brow.

“Who requested it?” Chloe asked, head cocked to the side in confusion. In response, Cynthia Rose scoffed, shaking her head at her captains denseness.

“DJB, obviously.” Cynthia Rose told her, dumbfounded that Chloe didn’t guess that instantly. “She’s bought popcorn for the movie night and everything. How did she mess up this time?” Cynthia Rose grinned, Stacie and Flo laughing at her joke and awaiting Chloe’s response.

Chloe just shook her head with a smile on her face.

“She hasn’t actually done anything. I’ve got no idea what she wants. But if it’s serious enough that she’s volunteered to sit through a movie night and eat pasta she doesn’t like then I’m either about to pay her a lot of money or she’s burnt down my bedroom.” Chloe laughed, the other girls nodding in agreement.

“Dinners going to be five minutes guys.” Jessica called from the stove, adding last minute seasonings and fresh basil to the pot. The Bellas all scrambled into action, chatting over each other deciding who was getting drinks, fetching the other Bellas and other last minute tasks. 

“I’m just going to wash up and I’ll be down.” Chloe jabbed her thumb in the direction of the doorway behind, the Bellas in the kitchen acknowledging her statement with various okays and grins.

Chloe picked up her bag and jacket on her way up the stairs. She stopped off at Jessica and Ashley’s room to knock on the door, waiting until Ashley appeared in the door way with a smile.

“Hey Chloe, what’s up?” She asked brightly as she leant on the doorframe. 

“Jess says dinner is ready in five.”

Ashley’s face lit up as her mouth fell open slightly. 

“Pesto gnocchi?” She asked hopefully as she stood straight. Chloe nodded.

“You know it.”

Ashley let out a ‘yes’ under her breath as she clenched a fist in joy. She closed her door and stepped into the hallway next to her friend.

“God, I’m in love with that girl.” Ashley said with a grin before she hurried down the stairs. Chloe laughed as she went, calling out that she’d be down in a second. They were cute, Chloe thought even if she was slightly jealous of the two Bella’s relationship. But that was only because she wanted what they had with Beca. 

Talking of which, where was she? Usually she would’ve come and found Chloe by now or at the very least dropped her a text in the day, but nothing. The whole thing was suspicious- from the movie night to the lack of communication even to the eating breakfast together this morning. And Chloe was sure it had something to do with the fact that she had woken up to Beca in her bed this morning. Whether it was because her friend regretted it and this was all her way of apologising or because it was all leading to something else, Chloe wasn’t so sure of. 

Chloe kept running through her thoughts as she crossed the landing to her own bedroom door, fumbling with the door handle due to her hands being full with her belongings. After her third attempt, she pushed the door open and walked into her room, shutting the door to behind her by kicking it with her foot. She dumped her bag on the floor unceremoniously as she emptied her jacket pockets of her keys and her loose change, looking down at the objects in her hand as she walked further into her room.

“Hey.” 

The unexpected voice made Chloe yelp and drop her jacket on the floor so she could hold a hand to her pounding heart. She looked up at the same time to see Beca Mitchell sat on her bed, headphones around her neck and her laptop sat in front of her. She had a smile playing across her features of amusement at making Chloe jump and it made Chloe’s heart jolt again. 

“Oh my god, you scared me.” Chloe scowled half heartedly at her friend before she crossed the remainder of her room and threw her keys and headphones on her bedside table. Beca watched as she did so, shutting the lid to her laptop. Chloe fumbled with the clasp of her necklace at the back of her neck, looking down at Beca as she did. “What are you doing in here anyway?” 

Chloe watched as Beca licked her lips, no doubt trying to think of an answer. After a few seconds of silence, it was Chloe that broke it by sighing frustratedly as her fingers slipped from her necklace clasp yet again. Beca shuffled forwards, moving her laptop to one side.

“C’mere.” She said, patting the space in front of her still crossed legs. Chloe hesitated for a moment, still wanting an answer as to why Beca was in her room but gave up almost instantly knowing that if she sat down then Beca would shuffle up close behind her and her fingers would be touching her just like they were this morning and… yep, she was definitely sitting down.

Chloe sat on the edge of the bed, head tilted downwards so Beca could see what she was doing. She felt the younger girl move in close so her knees were touching her back and did her best to hold back a shiver at the knowledge that she was so close. She couldn’t hold it back when Beca moved all of her hair over one shoulder however, the fingers lightly running through the small hairs at the very base of her head for a fraction of a second. If Beca noticed she didn’t mention it, her fingers just skimming along her shoulders until they met in the middle of Chloe’s neck at the clasp. 

“So we’ve got pesto pasta for dinner.” Chloe said, a questioning tone to her voice as she asked. Beca hummed a yes from behind her, focusing on trying to undo the fiddly clasp and cursing that she bit her fingernails so short. 

“And there’s a movie night later… With popcorn, I heard.” Chloe pressed, hoping that Beca would pick up on the hints and confess what she was up to. 

“Yeah, but I’m having Twizzlers. I’m not touching popcorn, no way.” Beca grimaced from behind her, her hatred for the movie snack being made very clear. She would never ever eat popcorn with a movie, claiming that she was sick of the stuff after being forced to watch so many movies in the few months she was dating Jesse. They hadn’t worked out and had remained friends but her distaste for popcorn had lingered forevermore, leaving Chloe to always share candy with her during Bella movie nights whilst she watched the rest of the girls scarf down her favourite snack. But she would always pick candy because then Beca would stay and watch the film with only half the complaining than usual, plus she would always have to sit next to Chloe to reach the packet. Completely tactical.

“But I don’t like Twizzlers.” Chloe said confused turning her head slightly to try and look at Beca, receiving a tut from her instead as the chain slipped from her fingers. Beca sighed before giving it another go.

“I know. But I do. And you’re having popcorn, so I just thought I’d get some Twizzlers.” Beca explained as if it was obvious. But it wasn’t. Because this was Beca Mitchell admitting that she was planning to sit through a whole movie night even without the excuse to share candy with Chloe. 

What was she up to?

“A ha! Got it!” Beca announced smugly as the chain loosened from Chloe’s neck where Beca had finally managed to unclasp it. Beca lifted the necklace up and off Chloe’s neck, clasped it together and handed it back to Chloe who had swivelled slightly in place so she was facing Beca.

“Thanks.” Chloe smiled as the chain was placed in her open palm. Beca shrugged.

“No problem.” 

They just looked at each other for a moment, closer than they had realised now they were face to face. All of the questions that Chloe had forgotten to ask over breakfast suddenly rushed to the forefront of her mind again, all scrabbling over one another to try and tumble from her lips. But the sight of Beca’s lip quirking up slightly in a half smile as her eyes seemed to scan the details of her face made Chloe mute.

“Listen. I’m sorry about this morning.” Beca said just above a murmur, as if there were people in the room that might hear. Or it could have just been Chloe’s heart beating in her ears that made her seem quiet. All of her thoughts were screaming to get out but all she could manage was a pathetic, “Oh?”. She cringed internally at her incompetence for communication when it came to Beca Mitchell.

“Yeah, I left my dishes out because I was late and I didn’t even say thanks or sorry or anything. Dick move. So, I’m sorry.” Beca finished, hands falling in her lap in finality.

“Oh.” Chloe replied, not helping the tinge of disappointment that snuck into her tone; she thought Beca was finally going to bring up the whole spooning and falling asleep thing, but evidently not. “It’s cool. No big deal.” 

Beca smiled and nodded, looking almost as if she was going to say something before deciding against it and slipping her headphones from around her neck off to place them atop her closed laptop. She then stood from the bed, Chloe following suit as she did so until both girls were stood in the middle of the room. 

“Jess says dinner is ready by the way.” Chloe said as she walked to her dresser in search of some comfy clothes suitable for movie night, her hands grabbing a pair of sweats and an old t shirt she had stolen from Beca for rehearsal one time.

“Cool. I mean, it’s pesto so I’m not exactly jumping for jo- Hey, that’s my shirt!” Beca yelled, finger pointing accusingly at the offending garment in Chloe’s left hand. 

“Oh, is it?” Chloe acted dumb, looking at the t shirt as if she’d never seen it in her life when she knew full well that it belonged to her best friend. Her best friend, who crossed her arms and smiled knowingly at Chloe’s blatant lie.

“Well, who else do you know that went to Deering High School?” She smirked before snatching the shirt from Chloe’s hand and holding it up so the back was showing, the words ‘Class of 2012’ emblazoned across the maroon fabric. “And the last time I checked, you graduated in ’09.” She turned the shirt around to the front where there was some text printed underneath the school crest. “Oh yeah, and your nickname wasn’t Trash Panda.” 

“Yeah, about that. What does that even mean?” Chloe asked as she snatched back the shirt from Beca’s grip, making the younger girl laugh. 

“Trash panda. Like a raccoon?” Beca explained, rolling her eyes at her old nickname. Chloe stared back blankly, not understanding in the slightest what she was talking about. Beca saw this and so gestured with a hand to her eyes.

“Because of the eyeliner. People said I looked like a raccoon. But I thought Trash Panda just sounded so much cooler.” She made a lame rock on hand gesture, trying to make her choice of nickname seem in any way cooler than it was but Chloe just shook her head with a laugh.

“Weirdo.” Was all that she said before pulling her blouse over her head, leaving her stood before Beca in just her bra and jeans. Beca’s eyes widened almost imperceptibly before she dropped her gaze to the floor. 

“Well, anyway, you can keep it. Not like me having it back was a choice it seems.” Beca mumbled, avoiding looking up as Chloe slipped out of her jeans, leaving them in a pile on the floor with her blouse. And maybe it was a bit forward, but Chloe didn’t really think about it. She had gotten changed in front of Beca before- hell, even invaded Beca’s shower before- what was different now?

Oh yeah, Beca had woken up in her bed that morning and was clearly up to something. That was what.

Beca moved to the door, looking up finally as she turned back to face Chloe who was still basically naked and applying deodorant. She dropped the can to her side as Beca met her eyes though.

“Right, I’ll, um, see you down there then?” 

Chloe nodded, the air between them feeling heavy with some unspoken tension, but whether that was leftover from that morning or just a figment of Chloe’s imagination she didn’t know. 

Beca nodded with a finality and Chloe could’ve sworn that she saw her eyes scan down her unclothed body before she turned and walked out of the room to go to dinner, shutting the door behind her. 

Chloe sighed heavily, annoyed that once again they hadn’t even brought up the elephant in the room. Maybe it was a one time thing that Beca wanted to forget, Chloe pondered as she pulled on the sweatpants, nearly tripping as her left foot got stuck briefly.

She hoped that it wasn’t but from the way that Beca had apologised, plus all the effort she was going to that evening what with her favourite food and no doubt her favourite movie, she convinced herself that that was probably the case. 

Had she known that it was the first and only time that she woke up with Beca Mitchell, she would never have fallen back to sleep.

Chloe pulled on her best friends t shirt, her heart sinking a bit further when she realised it still smelt like her. Still smelt like she had when she cuddled into Chloe that morning. Chloe wished she could smell that again- feel that again- when she woke up tomorrow. 

Chloe turned back to her bedside table where her phone sat, slipping it into her pocket to take downstairs when she noticed it. 

There, sat on her bed in a neat pile, was Beca’s laptop and headphones on the side of the bed she had been asleep on not 12 hours before. Chloe smiled, reaching out to feel the still warm shell of the computer. 

The computer that Beca was never without for more than a few hours, meaning she was definitely coming back upstairs into Chloe’s room at some point that evening. So maybe Chloe’s heart didn’t have to sink just quite yet.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter in this tale of fluff and nonsense. Hope you guys are still enjoying it and thanks for the patience between chapters- I'm back at uni now so still trying to write as much as possible between actual essays. 
> 
> Still cheesy as ever, do not fear.

After washing her hands in the bathroom and rounding the last few girls from the upstairs, Chloe made her way downstairs to dinner. She walked into the kitchen, following the amazing smell of freshly baked bread and pesto, and felt a warmth settle in her heart as she looked over to the dining table.

All of the Bellas were sat around the table, bar Jessica and Ashley who were bringing over two large plates of warm buttered bread. They placed them on the centre of the table and sat down next to each other, their hands linking and coming to rest in the gap on the table between them. 

Then there was Stacie and Cynthia Rose doing their best to serve up nine portions of pasta, with Stacie doing the scooping and Cynthia Rose doing the holding of the plates. Lily was passing out the full plates, murmuring something under her breath to each individual plate- probably cursing it in some obscure language- before passing it to a chattering Bella. 

Flo was pouring out the last few glasses of wine, distributing them to different girls and trying her best to be heard over the chaos of mealtimes with all nine Bellas. Fat Amy wasn’t really helping, more just shouting vague instructions into the room and nobody in particular whilst eating her first slice of bread. 

Chloe walked to the last empty spot at the table next to Beca, who was sat looking disgruntled at the plate of pasta in front of her. Chloe just about managed to keep the smile from her face as she slid onto the end of the bench, wondering why Beca would willingly eat pasta that she couldn’t stand. Was it out of guilt or something else?

“Thanks Jess, it looks super good!” Chloe grinned down the table to the blonde Bella, who shrugged with a humble smile. The rest of the girls, even Beca, all chorused Chloe’s thanks whilst picking up their forks in preparation. Ashley leant over and kissed her girlfriend before Jessica smiled back at the Bellas.

“Okay, well dig in.” She beamed before diving her own fork into the pasta she’d made. 

And with that, the table divulged into dinner mode. For a minute or so, there were no noises except chewing noises and various compliments and contented moans about how amazing the food was. Chloe let out a sigh of her own as the light pasta hit her tongue, the basil flavour so well balanced with the filling of the homemade pasta. She literally didn’t know how Jessica did it, she was the most amazing cook that Chloe knew- don’t tell her mother. 

Eventually, the shock of how incredible the food was died down and the table began conversation. It was mostly about what had gone on in everyone’s days until Fat Amy had mentioned her latest boyfriend trouble and all the girls had focused on that, partially trying to give advice but mostly just for the gossip. Well, nearly all the girls.

Chloe glanced to her left and did a double take at the sight of Beca’s plate; it was still practically full of the pasta whereas everyone else was just over half finished. She was currently eating her second slice of bread, her fork untouched on the side of her plate and her fingers picking at the bread to make each bit last. 

Chloe felt her heart sink a little. She knew that Beca didn’t like pesto at all and it was probably her fault that the younger girl had suggested it and would be hungry as a result. At least she had candy she liked later, Chloe reasoned as she continued to eat her dinner and tuned back into the conversation. 

Apparently they had moved on from Amy’s temporary boyfriend situ and Cynthia Rose was just discussing her recent trip to Cali to visit her girlfriend back home, all of the girls listening with a smile as the ‘hardass’ of the Bellas spoke so sweetly about someone.

“I just miss her when I’m here, you know?” CR shrugged, taking a sip of wine as the girls around the table murmured their agreements. “Even sleeping in the same bed even if she does always steal the damn duvet.” She laughed, shaking her head as stabbed a piece of pasta. “Man, I’d wake up to that girl forever.”

Suddenly, Beca choked halfway through a gulp of wine, spluttering the liquid back into the glass and subsequently onto her face and into her eyes. Chloe jumped before turning and grabbing the glass from Beca’s hand in prevention of any glass related incident.

“You okay there DJB?” Stacie laughed from across the table, leading the other Bellas to laugh at their co-captain as she struggled out from the bench, kicking Chloe accidentally, to stand a foot away from the table. She was coughing wildly and her eyes were screwed shut to prevent the wine from dripping into her eyes.

Beca just about choked out a “Fine, yep” before she stumbled blindly to the downstairs bathroom, spluttering and groaning as she went. Chloe stood from the table and followed her hurriedly, just about remembering to put down the wine glass before she rushed to Beca’s aid, leaving the seven remaining Bellas to laugh and smile at one another knowingly.

The toilet door was shut when Chloe got there, but the sound of running water and annoyed muttering from behind the panelling let Chloe know that Beca was in there. She reached up and knocked lightly on the door. 

“Hey Becs, you okay?” Chloe asked trying to keep in laughter of her own as she heard Beca rant away to herself. There was a single cough before an answer.

“I’m good. Go and eat dinner before it goes cold. Oh, and tell the others if they laugh I’m going to kill them.” Beca instructed, making Chloe laugh once more before she obeyed the instruction and went back through to the kitchen. The girls turned to her, amused smiles on all their faces as she sat down.

“So what was that about?” Ashley asked with a grin. The girls all leant forward, their forks temporarily abandoned in preference for embarrassing their captain. Chloe shrugged, picking up a slice of bread from the plate in the middle of the table and transferring it to her own. 

“Don’t know.” She stabbed a piece of pasta with her fork, sparking the rest of the Bellas to follow her lead and begin eating again. “She’s acting super weird today.”

“Even weirder than usual?” Fat Amy challenged, taking a large bite of food. Chloe nodded, chewing on her own mouthful. Lily muttered something about hallucinogens into her wine, sparking a perplexed look on Flo’s face, who sat next to her. Stacie finished her mouthful of wine and put the glass down before she leant forward into the table.

“Has something happened? Between you two I mean?” 

And then it was Chloe who choked, swallowing a piece of bread too quickly. Luckily, a quick sip of wine and she had avoided any major disasters like her best friend had done a minute earlier. Chloe laughed nervously, not wanting to confess what- or more like who- she had found sleeping in her bed that morning.

“No, why would you think that? We’re just friends. No. Why, what has she said?” Chloe stumbled, nervously pushing pasta around her plate and avoiding the raised eyebrow of questioning from Stacie.

“Nothing. It’s just the whole asking for pasta she hates…”

“And suggesting a movie night when it’s not even a Sunday.” Interrupted Flo before Fat Amy nodded and gestured to what Chloe was wearing. 

“Not to mention that’s 100% Beca’s shirt.” She smirked, making all the girls apart from Chloe snicker into their food. “Wonder where you would’ve acquired that? Maybe after needing to find some clothes? In a hurry? Because a certain sexy Australian roommate was ascending the stairs?” Amy winked exaggeratedly with each rhetorical question, her implication so clear you could see it from space. Chloe rolled her eyes in response, ignoring the swell of laughter that erupted from around the table, mixed in with agreements of Amy’s theory from several of the table. 

“No, I just got it mixed up whilst I was sorting laundry actually.” Chloe said defensively over the laughter before transferring a piece of pasta into her mouth disgruntled. She was frustrated not at the Bellas and their assumptions but more so at the fact that said assumptions weren’t true.

She swallowed her mouthful and was just about to scold the laughing girls by assuring them that she and Beca hadn’t slept together when they all fell silent at the same time, focusing their attention on their dinner hurriedly.

“What are we talking about?” Beca asked suspiciously as she sat back down at the table, peering at each silent Bella as they ate their pasta. It was Jessica that broke the brief silence, thankfully for the rest of the girls who were suffering at the hand of a Beca Mitchell death glare.

“Um, we were just talking about which movie we’re going to watch later.” She lied, every Bella jumping on the back of the lie and nodding.

“So, I was thinking a horror?” Stacie started the conversation, leaving the awkward silence in the past and moving the room back into the chatty relaxed setting it had been in before, with all the girls throwing in movie suggestions. Well, all except Beca who would probably happily watch paint dry instead, Chloe thought. 

The conversation lasted the rest of dinnertime, until every plate was clear and there was no more bread on the tables and every girl was full. At least that Chloe could see until she glanced down to her left and saw Beca’s mostly full plate. 

Beca was still picking at her food, pushing it around the plate with a fork trying to find pieces of gnocchi with little pesto on them or scraping any basil from the pasta she could find and nibbling them. She had eaten her bread already and was clearly just trying to eat so she wouldn’t be hungry later because being Beca Mitchell she didn’t really care about seeming polite and eating so she wouldn’t leave food on her plate. 

Chloe just watched her for a while, the conversation still happening around her but now sounding like it was underwater as she just focused on Beca and the way her left hand manoeuvred the fork around the plate. The left hand that had snaked it’s way under Chloe’s t shirt earlier that morning. 

Chloe sighed despite herself at that thought.

The sigh made Beca look to her right and into Chloe’s eyes. Chloe raised her eyebrows in a silent question of, ‘You okay?’, not needing words to communicate to her best friend who just grimaced and shrugged lightly. Chloe interpreted that to mean ‘I’m not loving the food but I’m okay.’ and so sneaked a glance at the other girls to check they were still in conversation before handing Beca her leftover slice of bread with a smile.

Beca took the bread with a grateful smile (and maybe a hint of a blush on her cheeks if Chloe’s imagination wasn’t running away with her) before gesturing to her plate with her fork in an invitation for Chloe to help herself. Chloe did so, scraping just over half onto her plate before setting Beca’s plate back down and winking in a silent thanks. 

They didn’t need words. Not when they were figuring out acapella numbers or running Bella rehearsals. Not when surreptitiously dividing up food or gauging the others mood. And, to Chloe’s slight annoyance, clearly not when they woke up in bed together.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the next long overdue installment in this little story of star-crossed acapella gays. Again, sorry for the delays between chapters but just know that I'm always writing! I'm super appreciating all the positive feedback too- it fills my heart with a lot of joy to read all the comments and see people liking the ridiculous 4am sleep-deprivation induced tales I type out.
> 
> I would suggest some grapes and wine to go with this grade A cheese.

After a manic session of washing and drying and putting away plates with all nine girls in the kitchen, the Bellas had all migrated to the big living room with armfuls of snacks and drinks for a traditional movie night with the exception it was happening mid-week and not their usual Sunday. 

There were no allocated seats in the living room, leaving it to be a bit of a free for all at times- although it was always guaranteed that Jessica and Ashley would sit together as well as Chloe and Beca and Lily would always perch on the floor in the corner with a bowl of pumpkin seeds. The girls were used to it by now, Lily’s weird antics, and seeing as she was in a place where the girls knew she wasn’t setting fire to something, they were happy to let her continue. 

Chloe was last into the living room, holding the packet of Twizzlers and another glass of wine in her hands. She noticed the menu playing on the screen for The Great Gatsby and smiled widely. She’d wanted to see it for ages and now they were finally sitting down to watch it, all the Bellas together. Her heart felt very warm tonight, and it wasn’t just the two glasses of wine doing it, but all her best friends sat round together in one place, chatting and throwing cushions and blankets around to get comfy.

Chloe scanned the chaos to see who was where. Lily was in her usual spot in the corner on the floor. Stacie, Cynthia Rose and Flo were sprawled over one sofa, all tangled up under one huge blanket with a large bowl of popcorn in the middle. Jessica and Ashley were on the other sofa, cuddled up close under their favourite crochet blanket they’d made together over Christmas break, with Fat Amy stretched out along the remainder of the sofa, another bowl of popcorn in the middle of the three of them. And then, in the armchair was Beca, curled up on her phone underneath a duvet. 

Chloe crossed the room, flicking the lights off as she went, moving until she was stood in front of Beca. She held out the packet of candy and nudged Beca with it.

“Here you go.” Chloe smiled down at Beca, who looked up from her phone and sat up straight. She took the packet gratefully from Chloe and put on the arm of the chair. 

“Thanks dude.” Beca said, making Chloe shrug a ‘no worries’ before she turned her head to see if a gap on either sofa had opened up. Seeing a minuscule sliver next to Amy, Chloe went to turn and cross the living room but before she could, a hand on her free wrist stopped her. Chloe turned back around to look down at the hand holding her and saw a pair of tattooed headphones pressing against her fingertips. 

“Where you going?” Beca asked, a confused look on her face as she looked past Chloe to the sofa. Chloe tried her hardest to resettle her pulse for fear that Beca would feel it in her wrist. She shrugged, not really knowing what else to say or do whilst she felt eight sets of eyes on her. Beca rolled her eyes and let go of her wrist and for a split second Chloe panicked, thinking she had offended Beca for some reason or another, but her fears were quickly diminished by Beca lifting the duvet up and gesturing to the space next to her. 

Chloe smothered the wide smile that threatened to take over her features by quickly sitting down next to Beca in the small gap. There wasn’t really enough comfortable seating room for two, but she still squeezed in regardless. Beca threw the duvet back over them and Chloe placed her glass of wine on the side table next to the chair so she could get completely comfortable. 

As the two girls shuffled around, trying to manoeuvre until they were comfortable, the other Bellas silently agreed to start the film, knowing that it could be a while until the two captains gave in and just cuddled up to each other like they would inevitably do. 

Every minute or so, either Beca or Chloe shuffled again, feeling like their toes were poking the other or a leg was trapped and slowly going numb or that they weren’t close enough. It was funny, Chloe thought, that they hadn’t had a single issue that morning when it came to sharing a duvet. It was natural and sleepy and quiet the way that Beca had wrapped her arms around her and fallen back to sleep on a shared pillow- so why were they being so awkward now, even though they were both fully awake?

It was the tenth attempt at shuffling when Beca misjudged how much room she had and she slipped slightly, coming to lean her back against Chloe’s side and front. Chloe felt her tense up at the close proximity but Chloe decided that she was going to be bold. She turned and manoeuvred her body so her legs were either side of Beca’s, effectively sitting her between her legs, and Beca’s back was flush against her front. 

Beca still sat upright and stoic until Chloe gently placed her hands on her waist and pulled her ever-so slightly back in invitation. She held her breath for the moment that Beca stayed rigid and she worried she had misjudged everything but then Beca was leaning back and shuffling down so her head rest on Chloe’s collarbone and Chloe was grinning stupidly. 

The Bellas all shared a knowing look at the two girls, not that either of them noticed. 

Chloe wrapped her left arm loosely around Beca, in what could only be described as an extremely loose headlock of affection, leaving one hand to reach behind her and grab her glass of wine. Beca opened up her packet of Twizzlers and took a bite of one as Chloe took a sip of her wine, the two fitting together just right without even really trying. 

The film played on and the room was mostly silent, save the rustling of popcorn and occasional whispers from various girls asking to pass them various glasses of wine, which was unusual for a Bella movie night. But there was one reason it was so silent for a Bella movie night and that reason was currently wrapped up in the arms of Chloe Beale. 

Usually when it was a movie night, Beca would attend but she was allowed to make annoyed comments throughout the entirety of the screen time, pointing out the errors and plot holes with great pleasure. It wasn’t that she necessarily hated the film playing, but she enjoyed the satisfaction that came with ripping them apart more it seemed. 

However, tonight she was dead quiet, clearly more content to lie back on Chloe’s chest and silently eat her favourite candy than disturb the film with some smartass comment about how that car wasn’t quite period accurate or Leonardo DiCaprio didn’t deserve an Oscar with acting that bad. She didn’t even grumble when Chloe placed a small bowl of popcorn on her lap so she could reach it more easily, which all the Bellas stifled their giggles at because if it was anyone else with any other food, Beca would have all but thrown it on the floor. 

After an hour and a half and no interruptions, the movie was paused after Amy had made some exclamation about ‘needing a wazz more than a koala in a eucalyptus tree when there’s tourists underfoot’ before hurrying out of the room. A few of the other girls took the opportunity to go to the kitchen and grab more snacks and drinks, with a few staying behind to stretch and discuss the movie so far. 

Chloe was just in the middle of talking about the costumes with Cynthia Rose when she was interrupted by Stacie holding out another bowl of popcorn to her, which she took with a grateful smile.

“Thanks Stace, but it’s cool I could’ve got it.” Chloe thanked her friend, who just filled up Chloe’s empty wine glass with the bottle she’d bought in. 

“Maybe you could but then we would’ve had to deal with grumpy Mitchell and I don’t think any of us have the strength or willpower to do that.” Stacie laughed as she spoke quietly to Chloe, who just looked back with a confused smile on her face. At seeing her perplexed reaction, Stacie nodded down at the person underneath the shared armchair duvet, prompting Chloe to peer past brown hair to look down at Beca.

Beca who was fast asleep wrapped up in a duvet and Chloe.

Chloe felt her heart stop as a rush of déjà vu swept over her. The way Beca’s lips were just ever so slightly parted and the way a strand of her hair stuck to the corner of her mouth right down to the twitching fingers Chloe could feel against her leg- it was like how she had woken up this morning, but this time it was Beca in her arms and not the other way around. 

Chloe heard Stacie clear her throat and realised she had been staring. Right, this wasn’t her bed and they weren’t alone, she needed to get her game face on and try her best to pretend like she wasn’t completely in love with the sleeping girl in her arms. 

“Listen Chlo, I don’t know what’s happened here,” Stacie gestured to the armchair before continuing. “But we’re all super happy for you and glad that you finally got your act together.” Stacie moved back to her spot on the sofa, ignoring Chloe’s splutterings of protest as she tried to explain that nothing had happened. 

“Maybe now she’ll stop being so angry all the time now she’s getting some.” Stacie winked before taking a sip of wine, Jessica and Ashley smothering their giggles at their friends teasing. Chloe huffed in annoyance but couldn’t help the small smile that had found it’s way onto her features as Stacie didn’t relent in her teasing by making heart gestures around the snuggled up pair on the armchair. 

“Believe or not, nothing’s happened. I don’t know why she’s being like this.” Chloe retorted in a low quiet tone so as to not wake up the young brunette who was just starting to snore lightly again. Chloe ignored the way her heart melted at the adorable sound (yep, she was in that deep that she thought that Beca’s snoring was adorable) and carried on. “So the teasing can stop because honestly, we’re just friends Stace.”

Stacie went to retaliate, her mouth opening with a sharp intake of breath, but Chloe’s attention was immediately diverted as Beca shuffled in her arms. Chloe turned back and watched as Beca turned onto her side and cuddled even closer into the material of her old school leavers shirt Chloe was wearing. Without even thinking about it, Chloe pulled the duvet so it sat more comfortably over Beca’s sleeping form before taking her free hand and gently moving the hair from her face to back behind her ear. 

Just as Chloe’s fingers were lifting away from Beca’s face, the younger girl murmured in her sleep and drew her eyebrows together in a way that made it look like she was about to wake up. Chloe froze, fingers still just resting on the shell of Beca’s ear in yet another parallel from early that morning, just waiting to see if Beca would wake or not. 

It was the latter, with Beca’s features relaxing before she let out a small snore as one hand slid just under the fabric of Chloe’s t shirt- the twitching from Beca’s fingers now against the soft skin at Chloe’s hip. 

Chloe wrapped her arm not holding her wine glass around her sleeping best friend and leant her head so it rest atop brown hair, the smell of Beca’s shampoo floating into her nose and making her take a mental note to see if her pillow upstairs smelt like that now too. 

“Just friends. Sure, like I’m just friends with those three guys from my aerospace engineering course.” Stacie scoffed into her wine from her spot on the sofa, making the Bellas who were in the room laugh at the expense of the two cuddling captains- not that one half of the party cared seeing as they were unconscious. 

Chloe just smiled into Beca’s hair at the comments, too happy with her current position to argue and risk losing the warmth of a sleeping Beca for the second time in 24 hours.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, getting near the end of what was meant to be a oneshot and has turned into my most popular story, even though it is just sappy fluff nonsense. But sappy fluff nonsense is apparently good, so there's always that.
> 
> I really enjoyed writing Jessley in this, so look out for some potential Jessley fics in the future.
> 
> Okey doke, let's roll, hope you enjoy and as always feedback and comments make me smile like a stupid person!

The rest of the film played on without anymore interruptions after the girls settled back in, seeing as ample snack and drink supplies had been brought in with their return. Beca also stayed fast asleep, still lying on Chloe as she absentmindedly ran her fingers over Beca’s back underneath the duvet.

After the film ended, Cynthia Rose and Flo announced they would get an early night seeing as they had early morning classes the following day. The seven remaining Bellas (with the exception of the dead-to-the-world DJ) wished them goodnight before settling back in to watch another movie. 

This time it was some cheesy rom-com that was put on, seeing as Beca would never allow for it if she was conscious instead of flat out asleep and dribbling on Chloe’s t shirt. The girls giggled at the stupid predictable antics through another glass of wine each, certainly feeling the effect of the alcohol as they did so. Chloe was certain, as she looked at her best friends and then down to the love of her life sleeping soundly in her arms, that she had never felt happier than right then at that moment. 

Then her heart sank a little as she realised that the film would end and the girls would go back to bed- Beca included. And she would have to get into a cold lonely bed and fall asleep thinking of the girl in the bedroom above. 

She shook her head to clear the thought from her head, deciding instead to rest her chin atop brown hair and pull Beca tighter into her before she woke and left completely. 

The film eventually ended as the clock ticked over to midnight, but the remaining Bellas stayed put after the TV had been turned off, just talking about anything and everything as they finished off the snacks and wine in their glasses. Well, with the exception of Lilly, who managed at some point in conversation slip out of the room silently probably to cause some suspicious disaster on campus. 

“So, Chloe.” Fat Amy said as she put down her empty wine glass. Chloe turned her head and raised her eyebrows in acknowledgement. “Is Beca coming back to our room tonight or is she going to mysteriously disappear like she did yesterday?” She asked with a smirk.

Chloe’s eyes widened for a split second, knowing that Amy had caught them out, but then she realised that she wasn’t actually guilty of anything- it was Beca who had got into her bed after all. 

“I, uh, don’t-“ Chloe started, but was stopped promptly by Amy holding a hand up.

“You don’t need to explain Red. You can have her.” Amy gestured to the sleeping form of Beca. “She snores like a dump truck with no wheels on concrete.” 

As if to prove the point, Beca let out a particularly impressive snore from underneath the duvet. All five Bellas laughed at that, the alcohol in their systems making the noise that much funnier and their loud laughter showed it. Chloe felt Beca startle in her arms and a moment later she lifted her head from Chloe’s chest to peer blearily up into her eyes.

“Whas’ goin’ on?” Beca mumbled, voice thick with sleep and confusion. Chloe’s heart pounded a little harder at how adorable the whole thing was (even with the fabric indentations and dribble on Beca’s face) and she couldn’t help the smile that sat on her features.

“Morning there- you sleep well?” Stacie asked from the other sofa, the sarcasm laden tone making Beca tear her eyes away from Chloe’s in order to scowl at her. Stacie simply grinned and waved at her.

“Fuck off Conrad.” Beca grumbled before she collapsed back under the duvet, her head returning to it’s original position on Chloe’s chest, making the four girls sat on the sofas laugh once more. Even Chloe couldn’t help but let a few giggles slip out, but she blamed that on the wine. 

“Love you too shortstack.” Stacie replied, the grin on her face finding it’s way into her words. Beca’s hand retracted from it’s place under Chloe’s t shirt (which made Chloe jump a little due to the fact that she had become used to the weight of her hand on her side) and she held her middle finger up in a non-verbal way of response. After the girls laughed once again, Beca’s hand returned back under the duvet and, to Chloe’s surprise, the t shirt it had just been under, fingers coming to rest on bare skin once more. 

Chloe couldn’t help the small shiver that ran over her at the contact and she just prayed that Beca hadn’t felt it. And as much as she tried to not let her mind run away with her, Chloe couldn’t help but notice how Beca had returned her hand to it’s original place for no reason other than she had wanted to. 

“Like I said,” Stacie said, interrupting Chloe’s over-analysis and drawing her attention back to the other sofa. “A grumpy Mitchell.” She said as she motioned in the general direction of the armchair before she stood up. 

“I’m heading to bed, don’t want to be here when that one wakes up fully.” Stacie pointed again at Beca with a grin, sparking a playful scowl from Chloe as if to silently scold her for trying to antagonise a tired Beca Mitchell. Stacie held up her hands with an overly innocent look on her face, making Chloe laugh as she left the room with armfuls of empty glasses and bowls.

The remaining three Bellas all stood as well, Jessica before Ashley as she had been sat in the latters lap under their crotchet blanket, all stretching or collecting empty glasses and bowls from the night. 

Chloe knew that she probably should move, as Jessica and Ashley were smiling knowingly at her seeing as she was still sat in the same position with her arms wrapped around Beca, but she knew that Beca was far too sleepy to be moved so suddenly and it would just result in a classic Mitchell tantrum. At least that was the excuse she gave herself in her mind- nothing to do with the fact that she could feel Beca’s breathing evening out and thought if she stayed still enough that the younger girl would stay asleep and therefore stay put. 

“You coming up yet Chlo?” Ashley spoke softly, gesturing upstairs. Chloe looked down at Beca for a moment before looking back up to the brunette and shaking her head. Ashley nodded, a smile finding it’s way onto her features. She checked that the other three girls were all in the kitchen before she picked up Chloe’s empty bowl and glass as well as Beca’s empty Twizzlers packet. 

As she leant down to grab the packet, she said, just loud enough for Chloe to hear, “The day Jess asked me out, she did all this weird stuff beforehand. Like made me go with her to a baseball game because I’d said once I wanted to see one or made me apple turnovers because I said I missed my Mom’s back home.” Ashley smiled fondly at the memory before she continued, “She asked to sleep in my dorm that night. I didn’t understand but then she asked me to go on a date with her and I got it, why she’d be acting so weird…”

Chloe could feel her heart in her throat as Ashley’s words resonated in her head, everything she was saying relating back to the past 24 hours. Chloe hoped this wasn’t some false hope being instilled and Ashley was speaking the truth.

“Anyway,” Ashley said back at normal volume as she stood straight. “I could be wrong.” She shrugged, walking to the kitchen but stopping halfway to turn back to smile at Chloe once more. “I hope I’m not though. Night Chloe.” She said with a final smile before she walked out of the room.

Chloe would’ve called out a goodnight as the four girls went upstairs but she was both cautious of being loud and physically unable to do so as her brain worked in overdrive over Ashley’s words and whether or not they were relevant to her situation like she wanted them to be. 

So she stayed quiet, the only noises being the sounds of doors closing upstairs and Beca’s deep breathing. Chloe had no desire to move, seeing as she still had Beca tucked up in her arms, so she just wrapped her arms around the younger girl tighter and laid her head on top of messy brown hair as she let her thoughts run in overdrive.

She thought about what it had felt to wake up with Beca and how right it had felt, like they’d done it a thousand mornings before that. She thought about all the stuff Beca had done out of the ordinary: getting up and eating breakfast with her, volunteering to sit through a movie and eat dinner she hated, just because she knew that Chloe liked it, to now falling asleep in her arms in a circular narrative that Chloe was both confused and enthused to be a part of.

But what did it all mean? That was what Chloe thought as she just held Beca, listening to the light snoring and feeling the twitch of her fingers on her torso. 

Chloe didn’t know how long she had been sat there but she eventually felt her eyes dropping shut with exhaustion so she guessed it was past one in the morning. She wanted desperately to fall asleep there, her arms still wrapped around Beca and the two of them cuddled together under a very warm duvet, but she knew that if she did then she would have awful back ache when she woke, as would Beca, seeing as they were curled up in an armchair built for one. 

And so, against every emotional particle in her body, Chloe sat up a little and moved the hair from Beca’s face. She looked so peaceful and innocent that Chloe’s internal battle between sense and sensibility flared up again. But yet again, her common sense got the better of her, and she ran her fingers through Beca’s hair before nudging her shoulder softly.

“Becs?” She called softly, nudging her again. Beca furrowed her brow but didn’t open her eyes, so Chloe sat up more in order to potentially jostle her awake. It didn’t work and Beca instead just let out a whine at the sudden movements as the hand under Chloe’s shirt gripped onto her hip in a reflexive attempt to get her to stay still. 

Chloe took a moment to breathe, trying desperately to ignore how Beca’s fingers splayed over her abdomen, before she patted the younger girl on the shoulder. 

“Beca, you need to wake up.” She said, pressing a quick kiss to the top of Beca’s head afterwards- fleetingly hoping that wouldn’t be the last physical contact she would have with the girl that night. 

Beca let out a tired groan as she stretched in Chloe’s arms. Chloe held her breath almost as she just watched Beca go through the motions of waking up, mesmerised by every movement and noise just because it was her. If it was anyone else, Chloe wouldn’t have thought twice about it; But it was Beca, so every stage of the process was instantly fascinating.

From the way Beca sat up slowly and bleary eyed, to how she stretched her arms above her head, to the small sigh she made when she rubbed her eyes- it was all too much for Chloe to process, so she just stared.

“What time is it?” Beca yawned as she pushed her hair back from her face. Chloe shook her head, not quite unable to process the question whilst Beca looked so adorably dishevelled. But then tired eyes were looking expectantly into hers and she realised she had to answer in order to maintain her facade of not being so ridiculously in love with the girl sat opposite her.

“Uh, I don’t know.” Chloe shrugged, trying to count in her head. “Like one? You’ve been asleep for a while.” 

Beca groaned at that, running her hands down her face to try and wipe the sleep away, it seemed. She reached her chin before she pulled her hands away from her face to inspect them and Chloe watched as she grimaced, touched her fingers back to the corner of her mouth where a line of dribble was still present and finally looked up to her again. 

“Oh my god.” Beca mumbled and Chloe didn’t even have the opportunity to ask what was wrong before Beca had shot forward back into her lap and pressed her hands to the middle of Chloe’s chest. Chloe just looked back in utter confusion, trying her hardest to control her heartbeat lest Beca feel it under her fingertips.

“What’s this about?” Chloe asked in a near whisper as Beca stared into her eyes with panic. Beca swallowed and Chloe felt her breath quicken as she prepared herself for whatever Beca was about to say.

“There’s dribble on your shirt.” Beca blurted. 

Chloe took a moment to process the statement. Not quite the dramatic declaration of love she was hoping for then. 

“That’s so embarrassing. Oh my god.” Beca blushed, her hands still firmly covering said dribble on Chloe’s chest where she had been sleeping. Chloe grabbed her hands and pushed her away with a chuckle. Beca scrabbled to cover it back up but Chloe was too quick, pulling the shirt and inspecting the wet patch on the centre of the maroon shirt. She laughed before looking back up to Beca, who was turning a similar colour to the shirt.

“Oh well, I’ll change before bed, it’ll be fine.” Chloe smiled, trying to reassure her friend. She pushed the duvet from her legs and tapped the side of Beca’s leg, who quickly realised she was still sat on Chloe’s lap and pushed herself backwards and off. 

Chloe stood, taking a moment to stretch her spine out after being curled up for hours. She pulled her t shirt back down where it had ridden up (and it must have been her imagination that had seen Beca’s eyes wander to the exposed skin of her abdomen as she stretched) and looked back down to the girl still sat under the duvet on the armchair. 

“You coming up?” Chloe asked with a nod to the stairs. In her mind, that question didn’t just mean upstairs, that meant upstairs with her, to her bedroom. She just hoped that Beca realised that too. 

“Yeah. Yeah, I am.” Beca nodded. There was a moment where they just stared at the other, trying to gauge what the other was feeling. Then Chloe was smiling and holding out a hand whilst saying, “Cool, come on then.” 

Beca took her hand and Chloe pulled her gently to her feet, letting her get used to being fully awake for a moment before dropping her hand. The two girls clicked off the last few lights and Chloe locked the front door before they climbed the stairs, Beca first and Chloe following on. 

Chloe reached her door and Beca hung back. 

“Okay, well, night then.” Chloe smiled with all the happiness she could muster whilst her brain was silently saying ‘I-told-you-so’ because of course Beca didn’t want to come up to her room. 

Beca smiled back, a similar bittersweet sadness playing in her eyes (or at least Chloe thought) before she nodded. “Yeah, night.”

Chloe opened her bedroom door, sparing a last glance behind her at Beca, who hadn’t moved from the same spot on the landing, before closing the door gently. The door shut, the latch clicked and Chloe’s heart sank. That was that then.

With a deep sigh, Chloe leant her head on the wood and listened as she heard Beca ascend the stairs to her bedroom. She waited maybe a half minute more before she gave up listening for the sounds of her coming back down and turned back to walk into her bedroom. 

As she went through the motions of getting ready for bed, taking off her sweatpants and throwing them on the floor along with her bra, Chloe tried her hardest to push her disappointment from her mind, knowing that it would lead to a sleepless night if she dwelled on it.

She had almost managed it, flicking on the small TV in the corner of the room onto an old episode of Friends that she watched as she removed her makeup and put her hair up. The mindless comedy helped her forget the girl upstairs but the second she switched the light and telly off and clambered into bed, those thoughts just came flooding back.

The pillow she lay on smelt like Beca’s hair and the duvet wasn’t nearly as warm as Beca was and the room was too quiet without Beca’s snoring. 

It was no good. Chloe couldn’t stop thinking about her. How clichéd. But true.

After a half hour of tossing and turning, just trying to find a position that was comfortable and didn’t make her think of how well Beca would slot in just behind her or under her arm, Chloe sat up with a huff. She decided she would distract herself with a trip to the bathroom, figuring that maybe the cold of the house would allow her to appreciate the warmth of her bed when she got back in it. 

She threw back the duvet and stood from the bed, taking a second to let her eyes adjust to the light so she wouldn’t trip over anything on the floor. She picked her way carefully to her bedroom door and swung it open.

To reveal Beca Mitchell stood on the landing in her pyjamas and bed hair.

There was a long moment of silence as Chloe tried to process what to say, the surprise of her being there making her brain completely bypass social conventions. Beca did the same, just standing in silence for a moment, her eyes scanning Chloe’s face as her lips moved in the shape of words.

“I left… Laptop…” She mumbled brokenly, staring straight into Chloe’s eyes and pointing in the direction of said laptop. There was another moment and then it was if someone hit play.

Beca lurched forward at the same time as Chloe and they met in the middle for a clumsy kiss, Beca’s hands clutching at the material of Chloe’s (her) t shirt and Chloe’s arms wrapping around Beca’s waist as they both tried to pull the other closer. They were breathing heavily as they kissed, Chloe not wanting to pull away from Beca in case she had fallen asleep and this was all a dream. Though from the way Beca’s tongue traced her top lip, she doubted it; no dream could ever be that good. 

Eventually the need for air won out and the two girls separated with a gasp, their chests screaming for air as they stood in each others arms and looked at the other up close. 

“Can I sleep here tonight?”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm alive! Or more accurately this story is! 
> 
> No worries, no plans to end this cheesy piece of nonsense just yet, a couple more chapters in the works. Just got to get uni work out of the way and then I'll be updating more regularly. I'm still putting out the odd one shot here and there, so go ahead and follow me to get more gay acapella fics straight to your inbox.
> 
> This is just a tiny update just to remind people this story- and me- still exists in the world, so hope you enjoy and as always leave me a comment and some love and I'll be forever grateful and grinning my stupid head off.
> 
> Enjoy!

“Can I sleep here tonight?” Beca whispered, a combination of breathlessness from the kissing and quiet due to the sleeping Bellas on the floor with them. Chloe didn’t even bother to answer, just pulled her in by the hand into the bedroom behind her, her eyes never leaving Beca’s as she pushed the door shut once they were both inside.

“Chloe, I-“ Beca opened her mouth but was interrupted by lips pressing desperately against hers and the feel of a pair of hands pushing her lightly on the shoulders in order to push her further into the room. Beca put her hands out onto Chloe’s waist to stop her just before they collapsed onto the bed, breaking the kiss to breathe and attempt to talk.

“Wait, wait, I need to talk to you before any more kissing.” Beca managed to get out as Chloe caught her breath. Beca watched as a flash of confusion and hurt fluttered across Chloe’s face, replacing the dark eyed look of longing. Beca’s grip tightened slightly on Chloe’s waist before she spoke.

“Chloe, I think I need to say what I’ve wanted to say for a while now before my heart explodes or some shit.” Beca mumbled even though it was just the two of them in the room. Chloe’s eyes scanned Beca’s worryingly but she didn’t speak; Beca took a breath and continued. 

“I love you. Like, I’m in love with you and everything that makes you you. And I’m so aware that that is cheesy and if you ever repeat this I will take it back so fast but I just need you to know before I go insane holding it in.” Beca rambled, finishing with the last of the air in her lungs before falling silent and breathing shakily in both air deprivation and nerves at her best friends response.

Chloe leant forward and kissed Beca softly, one hand holding the back of her neck to kiss her more soundly as the other one rested on Beca’s shoulder. Beca’s brain took a second to catch up and by the time she began to kiss back, Chloe had pulled back again and was smiling tearfully back at her.

“Beca, I love you t-“

And then Beca woke up.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are, next chapter in this cheesy cheese saga!
> 
> I'm sorry for the cliffhanger last chapter but oh boy, your comments had me laughing... Hopefully this starts to make it better and I can win you all back after being so damn evil. 
> 
> As always, comments and kudos and the rest of it makes me grin like an idiot, so feel free to leave some!

Beca woke up all of a sudden, eyes shooting open as her heart did a spectacular flip in her chest. She looked up at her ceiling, trying to calm her pounding heart beat for a while, listening to Fat Amy’s sleep mumbling from the bed across the room. 

After realising it was just a dream, Beca let out a long frustrated sigh into her hands that covered her face. She dragged her fingers down her face before turning her head to look at the clock on her nightstand, the white blocky numbers reading 04:12. 

This was the third time this week she’d woken from this dream and it was only Wednesday morning. And each time she had stared up at the same patch of ceiling trying her very hardest not to think about the subject of said dreams sleeping on the floor below. 

Beca sat up in bed, cringing at the noise of the springs creaking and looking over to Amy to check it hadn’t woken her. After a long moment of no reaction, Beca stepped out of bed and tip toed her way across the carpet to the stairs, deciding to do what she did every time these dreams woke her in the early hours and go downstairs to watch TV and eat very early breakfast. 

Beca descended the stairs silently, her sock covered feet making no noise in the still sleeping Bella house as she walked. She’d learnt the ways of manoeuvring the house undetected after the last few months of restless nights; the same kind of dream playing in her unconscious mind nearly every night ever since she’d developed feelings for the co-star of aforementioned dreams.

Beca had denied it at first, trying to convince herself that the way she wanted to be around Chloe at all times was just from having a best friend- something that Beca had never had before. She’d even tried to push it down after realising she was finding ways to be close to the redhead like cuddling during movie nights or holding on just a second longer when they hugged.

But it was about five months ago when she had finally admitted it to herself, after Chloe had invited her to spend Spring Break in Florida with her and her family. The sight of Chloe lying in the sun in a bathing suit that left little to the imagination had been the final straw and Beca had found her enjoyment of the beautiful Florida weather slightly dampened by her ongoing crisis at the realisation that she was not only into girls but she was in love with her best friend on top of that.

That was a lot to figure out and she was still doing so all that time later.

Beca sighed as she reached the same door she had stared longingly at every night. Chloe’s door. With the single polaroid photo of the Bellas after their first ICCA win tacked neatly in the centre of the white wood panelling. 

Beca couldn’t count the number of times she had looked at the same door in the last year or so. She was fairly certain that the patch of carpet in front of it had worn down where Beca always stopped and stared.

And it was on that very patch of carpet that Beca stood now, her head fighting with her heart as to whether she should knock on the door. A battle she had every time she was stood there. 

Every other night before that, her head had convinced her it was a bad idea: that it was the middle of the night and Beca could mess everything up and end up losing her best friend. It was always a multitude of reasons that had her continuing her journey to sit downstairs with a bowl of Rice Krispies and whatever was on TV at five in the morning. 

But tonight, the battle wasn’t there. There was no weighing up of options or what ifs, just the imaginary ghost of Chloe’s lips on her from earlier in the dream that had her stomach doing constant flips. Beca’s palms itched with a need to be close to her best friend and she didn’t know if after that dream she could stay away.

And that was what had Beca stepping forward and slowly turning the doorknob to the door she had become well acquainted with, her heart beating hard in her chest as she stepped into Chloe’s room and closed the door behind her with a soft click.

The room was pitch black, save a thin strip of moonlight that came through the gap in curtains and cast it’s beam across the right hand side of the bed. Beca used it as a light as she padded across the room carefully, picking out each step with the limited light to prevent stepping in any piles of laundry or empty mugs that were often scattered on Chloe’s bedroom floor. 

After a few steps, Beca reached the edge of the bed. By that time, her eyes had adjusted to the dim light and she could finally make out the shape of a person under the duvet on the bed. 

Chloe.

She slept in the middle of the bed on her side facing away from Beca, meaning she couldn’t see the inevitably beautiful face of Chloe Beale, but Beca knew it was her from the mess of red hair that was fanned across the pillow. Beca took in a shaky breath and sat down slowly onto the edge of the bed, just remembering to push the duvet out of the way before she did so.

Chloe breathed deeply and stretched an arm above her head and Beca froze, thinking for sure that the redhead was about to wake up and discover Beca creepily staring at her. But after a moment, Chloe’s arm fell limp against the white pillow above her head and she let out the breath she’d taken in a peaceful sigh.

Beca smiled fondly at the sleeping girl, fighting the strong urge to hold the hand on the pillow that arose in her. Her brain screamed at her to get out of the room, that this was in serious breach of their friendship- watching her sleep- and that it could only end badly.

But in the battle between sense and sensibility in Beca’s head, her brain was told quite frankly to shut up and before she could even think of what she was doing, Beca was pulling off her socks. She threw them on the the edge of the rug before lifting the corner of the duvet and carefully sliding under it to lie next to Chloe.

It wasn’t like they hadn’t shared a bed before. In fact, there had been many nights where Chloe had shared hers or vice versa for a whole host of reasons: they were drunk and had to help each other to bed, they had nightmares and had gone to the other in the night, they were scared of the lightening outside (okay, so that may have been Beca, not that she would admit that to anyone other than Chloe) or just because they had wanted to.

So this wasn’t out of the ordinary. Neither was the way that Beca just watched Chloe as she slept. Or the way Beca fought every urge to move closer and wrap her arms around her best friend. 

Not even the tiny, so light it almost wasn’t there, kiss that Beca pressed to the back of Chloe’s hair before she shuffled into the blankets in preparation for a few hours of lying awake just going over the dream in her head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it wasn't all a dream! A ha! And now you get to sit through the first seven chapters all over but with 100% more added Beca Mitchell internal monologue. You're welcome? I guess?
> 
> Shout out to user Saiori for predicting it spot on- you're a smart one...


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